GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A first of its kind festival in Grand Rapids is celebrating Colombia’s Independence Day, honoring their heritage with delicious treats, songs and dance.
Paola Carlson is the owner of Pochis Sweet Designsin Grand Rapids. She's been serving Colombian food and drinks for a few years now. But on Saturday, she went beyond the walls of her business and onto Ionia Avenue— hosting Gran Fiesta Independencia De Colombia— a celebration of Colombia's independence day.
“Because the Colombian people, the Colombian community has grown, it's important for other people living here to see our food, our tradition, our culture, our music and items,” said Carlson.
Colombia gained its independence on July 20, 1819. Carlson says, it shares a lot of similarities with America's independence day.
The event brought out people from all over, including Savy Sanger. She had never been to Grand Rapids before Saturday, and made a special outfit for the event. The outfit took her four days to make, but she says it was worth it to celebrate Colombian culture.
“I remember when Jorge Ortega had the first Colombian festival in Chicago. It was just a few people. Now, every year, they have to look for different places because there's more and more people,” said Sanger.
Gran Fiesta Independencia De Colombia started at noon and ended at 10 p.m.
You can stop by Pochi’s Sweet Designs at 44 Ionia Avenue to try Colombian cuisine and drinks all year round.
